What Happens When Your Communications Go De—

My son Alex and I either text, talk or shoot info via the net multiple times a day. We check up on each other, find out if we’re playing volleyball or not, share vids, music and just random info all the time. Until yesterday.

He just took his oath and was inducted into the U.S. Navy. He shipped to Great Lakes and started eight weeks of boot camp. In three days, I’ll receive a shipment of his personal effects, which include his cell phone. I had my last communication with him late last night, and won’t be able to talk to him for three weeks. Letters (letters? Who writes letters?) can’t start for seven days.

In a world of instant info and constant communication, seven days is a freakin’ eternity. Think about it: How often do you post, read, text, talk in a day? 1,440 minutes a day, 10,080 minutes in a week – break it down and three weeks is 1,814,400 seconds that I can’t talk to the man. For the longest time I took this amazing ability to be in touch with him for granted, now that distance is magnified ten-fold.

But maybe I shouldn’t be so distraught. When my pop was in the service, social media consisted of telegrams, and these were spotty, delayed and could be full of misinformation or just plain wrong. My grandmother received a telegram a full month after my dad was wounded at Omaha Beach on D-Day. Luckily for her, she had received a letter from him three weeks after he was hospitalized. Talk about instant info.

So, my communications with Alex have gone dead. I will write to him on a regular basis, something I haven’t done for anyone in my life. And I will count every one of the 1,814,400 seconds until I can talk to him again. Don’t take your ability to stay in touch for granted- whether personal or business, it’s an amazing opportunity to be a part of someone’s life.  Don’t waste it.

Now just 1,814,399 left.